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Outcomes of undernutrition in patients in the community with cancer or cardiovascular disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

Jackie Edington ,
Paul D. Winter ,
Steve J. Coles ,
Catharine R. Gale  and
Christopher N. Martyn
Jackie Edington*
Affiliation:
Medical Division, Abbott Laboratories, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 4XE, UK
Paul D. Winter
Affiliation:
MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, Hants., UK
Steve J. Coles
Affiliation:
Medical Division, Abbott Laboratories, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 4XE, UK
Catharine R. Gale
Affiliation:
MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, Hants., UK
Christopher N. Martyn
Affiliation:
MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, Hants., UK
*
*Corresponding Author: Dr Jackie Edington, fax +44 (0)1628 644185, email jackie.edington@in.ssw.abbott.com
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Abstract

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Public health concern has tended to focus on the dangers of obesity, but there is evidence that undernutrition may also pose a risk to physical and mental well-being, particularly in those who are already ill. Using the General Practice Research Database (see office for Population Censuses and Surveys, 1995), we followed up 10 128 men and women aged 18 years and over who had been diagnosed with cancer or cardiovascular disease to examine whether nutritional status, as indicated by BMI, affected rates of use of health care resources and mortality. In both diagnostic groups, patients with a BMI below 20 kg/m 2 had higher rates of consultation with GP, higher rates of prescription and higher death rates during the follow-up period compared with those with a BMI of 20 – < 25 kg/m 2. In men and women with cardiovascular disease, poor nutritional status was associated with a sharply increased risk of hospital admission. Patients whose BMI was 30 – <40 kg/m 2 also tended to have increased rates of GP consultation and prescription, and if they were under the age of 65 years, they had an increased risk of death. The results of the present study suggest that in men and women with cancer or cardiovascular disease, even minor degrees of undernutrition are associated with a marked increase in morbidity and mortality.

Keywords

MalnutritionCancerCardiovascular disease
Type
BAPEN Symposium on ‘Artificial nutrition support: no longer an expensive luxury!!’
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 58 , Issue 3 , August 1999 , pp. 655 - 661
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1999

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